Time: May.11 (Thu.), 15:00 – 16:30(Beijing Time)

Title:  Place-based policy, fiscal distortion and public service in China

Venue: Zengxianzi Science Building 406

About the speaker:

华岳，俄亥俄州立大学经济学博士，湖南大学经济与贸易学院副教授，经济系主任。长期研究中国区域经济政策、城市化与流动人口、经济发展绿色转型等问题。研究成果发表于Journal of Population Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Regional Science, China Economic Review及《数量经济技术经济研究》《经济评论》《国际贸易问题》《中国经济问题》等中英文期刊。主持国家社科基金重大项目子课题、国家自然科学基金青年项目等多项课题。担任多本中英文期刊匿名审稿人及国家自然科学基金通讯评委。现任中国数量经济学会理事。

Abstract:

As an influential regional place-based policy, the Great Western Development Project poses both fiscal restrictions and incentives on the targeted areas in China, creating potential fiscal distortion that affects the provision of local public goods. Using geo-coded grid-level data and a spatial discontinuity design, we find that the GWDP policy has distorted the fiscal arrangement of local governments and hindered the delivery of public educational and medical services. The identified effects are highly visible in northern and rural areas relative to southern and urban areas, yielding undesirable distributional consequences. Rising fiscal pressure from regional tax cuts, infrastructure-skewed transition of fiscal spending, and the misuse of public funds have contributed to the reduction of public service provision induced by the GWDP policy.